A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains or may contain material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the photocopy reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention relates in general to a gaming device, and more particularly to a gaming device that includes a multi-round game wherein the player accumulates awards, and maximizes award accumulation by selecting a different choice from a set of choices than a choice generated by the processor of the gaming device.
Known gaming devices provide award associates with masked selections. European Patent Application No. EP 0 945 837 A2 filed on Mar. 18, 1999 and assigned on its face to WMS Gaming, Inc. discloses a slot machine game, wherein the gaming device operates in a normal slot machine or basic mode by randomly selecting a basic game outcome from a plurality of basic game outcomes. If the game selects a start bonus outcome, the gaming device shifts from the normal slot machine or basic mode to a bonus mode.
In the bonus mode, which operates under player control, the player has one or more opportunities to pick masked selections. The masked selections mask awards and end-bonus outcomes. When the player picks a masked selection associated with an award, the game reveals the award and provides the award to the player. When the player picks a masked selection associated with an end-bonus outcome, the bonus mode no longer enables the player to pick masked selections.
The select-until or do-until selection loop is exciting for the player because the player accrues awards until picking an end-bonus outcome. The do-until selection loop provides the player with the sense that the player controls the player""s own destiny. The game of the European Patent Application No. EP 0 945 837 A2 is somewhat limited in that it provides and displays a single masked selection pool from which the player selects. Upon the first pick of an end-bonus outcome, the game ends. There is, therefore, a continuing need for more enjoyable and entertaining do-until types of games for gaming devices.
The present invention provides a gaming device having a game that may be implemented in a primary or bonus game. More specifically, the present invention provides a processor controlled gaming device that includes a multi-round game wherein each round includes a player choice and a game choice. In one primary embodiment, the gaming device includes a plurality of rounds, and begins a first round by assigning an allotted number to each choice in a set of choices. The gaming device displays the set of choices on a display to a player. The gaming device prompts the player to select one of the choices. Upon the player""s pick of one of the choices, the gaming device starts an award sequence for the first round.
In the sequence, the gaming device generates one of the choices and in association with generating the choice, the gaming device also generates an award for the player. The gaming device employs one or more well known random generation devices to generate the choice and the award. Alternatively, the gaming device only generates an award when the player""s choice is generated or when one of a number of choices is generated.
The gaming device repeats the generation of choices and awards until, in one implementation, a choice of the set has been generated its allotted number of times. In another implementation, the gaming device repeats the generation of choices and awards until more than one or all of the choices of the set have been generated their allotted number of times. The gaming device adds or otherwise accumulates each award generated during the sequence.
When the generation device has generated one or more or all of the choices its allotted number of times, the sequence of the first round ends. The player""s award for the first round in a preferred embodiment includes each award generated for each choice of the set.
The player""s award depends in part upon the number assigned to each choice. The higher the numbers, the more times a choice can be generated and the more times an award for the choice may be generated. In a preferred embodiment, different choices of the sets will have different allotted numbers and generate more or less awards.
In this primary embodiment, after a sequence ends, a random generation device randomly picks a choice from the set. The gaming device then makes a comparison between the player""s initial pick of a choice for the round and the choice of the set that the game randomly picked. If the choice that the player has selected is the same as the choice that the game has randomly picked, then no further rounds occur and the game ends.
If the choice that the player selects is different than the choice that the random generation device picks, the gaming device determines whether another round exists. That is, the gaming device stores a number of rounds for each game. If the player survives each round stored in memory without selecting the same choice that the gaming device randomly picks, the gaming device provides an extra bonus award and then ends the game.
If another round exists, the gaming device removes the choice generated by the gaming device in the previous sequence from the set. The gaming device also selects from memory another award pool from which the random generation device generates awards in the next sequence. In a preferred embodiment, the game chooses a new award pool that has higher average value awards than the previous award pool. The game then repeats the process herein described by assigning an allotted number to each choice for the next round and the next sequence.
In another primary embodiment, the gaming device proceeds substantially as described above. That is, the gaming device displays a set of choices for a first round to the player and prompts the player to select a choice. Upon the player""s pick of a choice, the gaming device begins the sequence for the first round. Once again, a random generation device generates choices from a set of choices displayed during the sequence. A random generation device also generates awards and preferably generates the awards one to one with the generation of the choices.
In this primary embodiment however, the sequence ends when the first choice of the set is generated its allotted number of times. In the previous primary embodiment, a plurality of choices of the first set may have to be generated their allotted number of times. Also different in this sequence, the gaming device does not randomly pick a choice from the set at the end of the sequence. Rather, the choice that has been generated its allotted number of times is the choice that the gaming device compares to the choice selected by the player.
In this primary embodiment, the player""s award for each round preferably includes each award generated in the set. In this primary embodiment, the award for each round may be less than the award per round in the previous primary embodiment when, in the previous embodiment, a plurality of choices are generated their allotted number of times.
A number of different data tables may be employed for randomly assigning an allotted number to each choice and for generating awards within any given round. Certain additional events contemplated by the present invention include a randomly occurring event that lessens the number of times that one or more choices have been generated. For example, if a particular choice has an allotted number of five and has been generated four times within the round, it can only be generated one more time. The random event however lessens the number of times, e.g., from four to two or four to zero, so that now the choice can be generated three more times. Another randomly occurring event includes an event that multiplies one or more of the awards generated during the round.
It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to provide a gaming device that has a do-until routine employing multiple rounds.
It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a gaming device that has multiple rounds, wherein each round pits a player""s choice against a choice made by the gaming device.
It is a further advantage of the present invention to provide a gaming device that has multiple rounds, wherein each round has a plurality of choices each having an allotted number, and wherein the round ends when a first choice is generated by the gaming device its allotted number of times.
It is still another advantage of the present invention to provide a gaming device that has multiple rounds, wherein each round has a plurality of choices each having an allotted number, and wherein the round ends when each choice is generated by the gaming device its allotted number of times.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a gaming device that has multiple rounds, wherein each round has a plurality of choices each having an allotted number, and wherein the round provides an award to the player based on a number of times that the gaming device generates choices within the round.
Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, wherein like numerals refer to like parts, elements, components, steps and processes.